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Category: My Publishing Journey

November 2018: Happy Thanksgiving

November 2018: Happy Thanksgiving

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It’s hard to believe that it’s the start of the fall/winter holiday season. We had a good number of Trick-or-Treaters on Halloween this year, the leaves are off the trees, and Thanksgiving is only two weeks away. Lot’s of fun family time ahead.

I’m still working feverishly on finishing up The Murder Run: The Travelers Book 6. (All the details have to be just right!) So this month, I’d like to share a little bit of my thinking about the writing of the third book, The Blackmail Photos.

The Blackmail Photos concerns the classic honey pot, where a mark is seduced to be blackmailed. This is straightforward business for the Travelers. No man is going to be able to resist her charms or stand up to his closing of the trap. But I wondered…just how many ways could this plan go wrong? What would be some interesting or surprising problems to propel the plot? And how could this plot expand on what we know about the Travelers’ relationship from the first and second books? So that’s how we end up with the horndog would-be congressman, the scheming wife, and the sheriff brother in-law. And from there, well, it’s off to the races. Just how will their motivations and desires clash with the Travelers’? And how will the Travelers gain the upper hand?

Finally, right now The Traveling Man is $0.99, and The Computer Heist is currently $0.99 on a countdown deal until November 14. So if you’re new, or you know someone who would enjoy the series, here’s the link to the series page: Click here

Happy Thanksgiving to all my US friends! Until next month…

October 2018: Promos and BookBub

October 2018: Promos and BookBub

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In August, I started reading PD James’s novels. I’ve read Cover Her Face, A Mind to Murder, and Unnatural Causes thus far. Don’t know how I missed them earlier. They are very different than my books—they’re in the Agatha Christie tradition, but they are beautifully written and the plots are hard to figure out before you get to the end. Lots of fun.

Thanks so much with your help on my Travelers series promotions last month. You got to buy the earlier Travelers books you hadn’t read yet at a discount, which helped to raise their visibility on Amazon, which in turn leads to new readers finding the series. As you well know, these books are not for readers who prefer Good Guy vs. Bad Guy plots, so it makes it a little harder to find readers who will enjoy them.

As part of that promotion, I had a featured deal for The Traveling Man on BookBub. If you’re interested in free or discounted eBooks, BookBub is by far the largest eBook site and the most careful about the books they will promote. So if you’re looking for something to read until the next Travelers book comes out, here’s the link:

https://www.bookbub.com/home/overview.php

The new Travelers book—The Murder Run: The Travelers Book Six—is now off with the copyeditor. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it. I’m still hoping to release it before the end of the year. As soon as there’s more news, you’ll be the first to know.

One last thing. Here lately, I’ve been sharing links to free eBook promos. I think of these promos the same way I think of the discount book table at the front of the book store, as a place to take a look and maybe find a book you will enjoy. If you’re like me, you buy books, you borrow books from the library, and you read free books. So I hope these promo sites are just one more opportunity for you to find a fun read. There will be another free promo later this month. I’ll let you know when it starts.

September 2018

September 2018

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I just got back from my son’s wedding in northern California. He and his now wife put together a beautiful ceremony in the redwoods. As you can imagine, we had a wonderful time visiting with family and friends, which we never get to do enough of. And I got a chance to enjoy the ocean, which is a big treat for a Midwesterner like me. But now it’s back to work.

In July, I wrote a little bit about how the Travelers series got started. This month, I want to focus on The Computer Heist: The Travelers Book Two.

Always, in every book, one of the key concerns is how to make it different from what has gone on before, while still being part of the Travelers universe. Each book needs to be exciting and suspenseful and not easy to figure out. That’s why we’re reading, right? For the pure escape. And that’s the value I want to deliver to you.

So here the crime involves the theft of a computer program and the machinations of everyone who has something at stake at the software company. Instead of the Travelers being completely on the inside of the con, and having to hold off competitors, (as they are in The Traveling Man) they find themselves having to discover what the con is really about if they are, in the end, going to get paid for their efforts and stay out of jail.

And part of what they have to figure out is who the other players are and what their level of criminality is, because they don’t want to harm anyone who’s not in the game, or as they would say, anyone who’s a civilian. And they want to gain the advantage over the other players by knowing what their limits are, which will increase their ability to manipulate them.

If you haven’t yet read The Computer Heist, The Blackmail Photos, or The Freeport Robbery, the eBooks are all on Amazon Countdown Deals until Tuesday September 18. So if you want to catch up on the series, now’s the time. Here’s the link to my author page with all the listings: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00W81SHBI

And if you know someone who would like to read The Traveling Man: The Travelers Book 1, the eBook is free on Amazon today through Friday 14 September so that new readers can find out about the series. Here’s the link: http://amzn.to/1Nnd373

All of you who are caught up with the series (Thank you!), rest assured that I’m hard at work on the new book, tentatively titled The Murder Run, and hope to have something more to say about it next month.

July 2018: Origins of the Travelers

July 2018: Origins of the Travelers

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Howdy, Michael here,

Hope you’re enjoying your summer. Some Travelers Group list members have asked how the Travelers series came to be. Well, part of it was planning and part was serendipity.

Initially, I wanted to create a crime fiction series that was fun to read and fun to write. I especially liked old school crime thrillers, like those by Hammet or Chandler, and I liked super realistic crime TV shows and movies, like The Wire or True Detective. And, as I’ve mentioned in lots of places, I’m fascinated by people’s tendency to want something for nothing. But how could these interests be combined?

So I read, or reread, a lot of crime thrillers, focusing on the types of characters other writers were creating. I read John Sanford, Lawrence Block, Patricia Cornwall, Robert B. Parker, Richard Stark, Patricia Highsmith, Jo Nesbo, Kate Atkinson, Robert Crais, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Sue Grafton, just to name a few.

There seemed to be plenty of alcoholic, ne’er-do-well private eyes and cross-the-line cops. I didn’t think I could add anything new there. And the idealistic do-gooder—well, that really wasn’t my thing. A con man, on the other hand, I thought maybe I could do something interesting with that. And so the Traveling Man was born, a seasoned con man, a manipulator who lives by a code to only rob crooks, as he defines them, a grifter with only one weakness—his wife.

But as I began to write the story of the Seanboro land grab and explore the possibilities of the various criminals and criminal wannabes who were hoping to get rich, the wife became a more and more important character, until I was writing not just about the Traveling Man, but about the two of them, and how the nature of their relationship affected their choices. The two of them pitted against a crime boss, a gang of thugs, and the cops. And so the Travelers were born.

If you haven’t yet read The Traveling Man: The Travelers Book 1, the eBook is free on Amazon today through Thursday July 12 so that new readers can find out about the series. Here’s the link: http://amzn.to/1Nnd373

Have a read and then drop a review to tell me what you think. A few words will do. Here’s the review link: http://amzn.to/2eS8rdW

Thanks for reading,

Michael

travelers@michaelpking.org

https://michaelpking.org

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The Double Cross Release

The Double Cross Release

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Woo hoo! The Double Cross, the new Travelers eBook, is now out on Amazon. I have to admit that I’m pretty excited. To thank you all for your support, The Double Cross will be $0.99 from today through Monday 11 September.

Here’s the official description:

In 1989, where it all begins…

A con artist betrayed by his partners. A plot for revenge. Can he and his new partner outwit his old crew… and escape with the cash and their lives?

Paul Kendal, 26 years old, is a con artist in a robbery crew. When he has all the information necessary to disarm their targets’ alarm systems and empty their safes, his partners go to work.

Originally, it seemed like a sweet plan, but as he begins to have doubts, his partners double-cross him. Now he wants payback. For that he needs a new partner.

Carol, 17 years old, uses her movie-star good looks to entice victims for her boyfriend to mug. But when her boyfriend lands in jail, Paul makes her an offer she can’t refuse…

The Double Cross is a novella-length dark crime thriller that tells the story of how the Travelers met. If you like fast moving action, unpredictable plot twists, and criminal chicanery, you’ll love this prequel to Michael P. King’s Travelers series.

Here’s the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075FH4RWR

Once again, thanks for your support and encouragement, and thanks especially for leaving a review.

The Double Cross

The Double Cross

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Exciting news! The Double Cross, the new Travelers novella, will be out next week! Some readers were interested in how the Travelers met, so I wrote this prequel that takes place in 1989. Once again, Paramita at creativeparamita.com did a great job with the cover.

Here’s the official description:

A con artist betrayed by his partners. A plot for revenge. Can he and his new partner outwit his old crew… and escape with the cash and their lives?

In 1989, where it all begins…

Paul Kendal, 26 years old, is a con artist in a robbery crew. When he has all the information necessary to disarm their targets’ alarm systems and empty their safes, his partners go to work.

Originally, it seemed like a sweet plan, but as he begins to have doubts, his partners double-cross him. Now he wants payback. For that he needs a new partner.

Carol, 17 years old, uses her movie-star good looks to entice victims for her boyfriend to mug. But when her boyfriend lands in jail, Paul makes her an offer she can’t refuse…

The Double Cross is a novella-length dark crime thriller that tells the story of how the Travelers met. If you like fast moving action, unpredictable plot twists, and criminal chicanery, you’ll love this prequel to Michael P. King’s Travelers series.

 

The Freeport Robbery Release!

The Freeport Robbery Release!

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Woohoo! The Freeport Robbery, the new Travelers eBook, is now out on Amazon. It  will be priced at $0.99 today through Thursday as my way of saying Thank You! Then the price goes up to $3.99.

Here’s the Amazon link to buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071NHN3VZ

Just like the other Travelers books, this novel received an excellent review from Kirkus Reviews. Here’s the link to the review: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/michael-p-king/freeport-robbery/

And here’s the official description:

Treachery. Conspiracy. Murder.

The Travelers, using the names Ron and Nicole Carter, break into a freeport vault to recover a stolen jewelry casket for return to a museum. Easy money. But after they’re ambushed during the break-in, they have to recover the casket if they’re going to stay out of prison. And now a vicious gang is hot on their trail . . .

 The Freeport Robbery is a noir crime thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. If you like nonstop action, exciting plot twists, and criminal machinations, you’ll love the fourth installment of Michael P. King’s Travelers series.

Finally, if you could leave an honest review on Amazon after you read the eBook, it would mean so much to me. I need reviews in order to promote the book to new readers. Just a few words is all it takes. Here’s the review link: http://amzn.to/2pbpcHv

Thanks so much for your support!